Nordstan in central Göteborg is Scandinavia's biggest shopping center. It has 60% more revenue than the suburban Frölunda Torg, even though it has 10% fewer car parking spots

Motorists like to point out that they pay a lot of tax, and it's true. In Europe, half the price of gasoline is made up of taxes. So, the reasoning goes, if people drive less the government's revenue will dry up. But it's not that simple, because if people drive less the money will likely end up somewhere else, like at the hairdresser's or at the local restaurant. And as half the price of gas consists of taxes, the other half goes to the oil industry. Motorists also send money to the car manufacturer, which usually is a company far away.

So reducing car traffic can be a way of rerouting this money to the local economy. In today's globalised, financially unstable world this is worth a closer look....